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Board of Directors

Claude Haw | Chairman of the Board, Company Director

Claude is President of Venture Coaches, a venture capital and management consulting firm which he co-founded in 2000. Venture Coaches Fund invested in eleven technology companies with three M&As and two IPOs (Toronto TSX, TSX-V and NASDAQ).

He is a professional engineer with more than 30 years in a variety of technical, general management and venture investing roles in the high technology sector.

From 2009 to 2011, Claude was President and CEO of OCRI (now Invest Ottawa), Ottawa's leading member-based economic development corporation for fostering the advancement of the region's globally competitive knowledge-based institutions and industries.

Prior to Venture Coaches, Claude held executive positions at Newbridge, including Vice-President of Corporate Business Development. In this role he managed strategic investment in more than 20 companies. As VP and GM of the ATMnet Business Unit, the unit grew from inception to a $200-million-per-annum business.

Before joining Newbridge, he held senior management positions at Mitel Corporation and Leigh Instruments.

Claude is a charter member of TiE, a global network of entrepreneurs and professionals and past board member of the Canadian Venture Capital Association (CVCA). Claude is also a founder of Mindtrust, an exclusive networking forum for technology company CEOs, and The Ottawa Network, an entrepreneurial group in the National Capital Region.

Claude holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from Lakehead University. He has completed the Canadian Securities Course and is a member of Professional Engineers of Ontario. He has been a guest lecturer at local universities speaking about entrepreneurship, business planning and venture investing. Claude has completed the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) Directors Education Program and has the ICD.D designation. Claude was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 for his contribution to entrepreneurship in Canada.

Peter Allen | President, Chief Executive Officer DragonWave Inc

Peter Allen brings 21 years of industry experience in Broadband Telecommunications. Prior to joining DragonWave as President and CEO, Peter was founder, President and CEO Innovance Networks. Prior to Innovance, Peter was the Vice-President of Business Development and General Manager of the Optoelectronics organization within Nortel Networks' Optical Networks division, where he had responsibilities for both the system and component businesses.

Peter's experience in business leadership includes heading up a 5000-employee global operation spanning R&D, manufacturing, as well as Sales & Marketing. Peter has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions and has been involved in numerous multi-billion dollar transactions, as well as establishing business partnerships in North America, Europe and Japan. Peter has also held managerial positions at Ford Motor Company and Rothmans International, and has lived and worked in North America, Europe and Africa.

Cesar Cesaratto | Company Director

Mr. Cesaratto has more than 35 years of experience in the Canadian technology industry. Mr. Cesaratto joined Nortel Networks Corporation, a communications equipment manufacturing company, in 1970 and assumed increasingly senior management roles during his 31 year career with Nortel, culminating in the role of President, Wireless Solutions for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Mr. Cesaratto retired from Nortel in 2001 and has continued to be active in the technology sector. He is currently a member of an angel investment group dedicated to the development of technology start-up companies in the Ottawa.

He was a director of Tundra Semiconductor (2007 to 2009) and Breconridge Manufacturing Solutions (2007 to 2010) and is currently chairman of the board of directors of Applied Micro Circuits Corporation. Mr. Cesaratto holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from McGill University.

Lori O'Neill | Company Director

Lori O’Neill is a Chartered Professional Accountant and Certified Public Accountant (Illinois). She retired from a global professional services firm in 2012 after over 24 years of service, 16 years as partner, serving growth companies from startup to multinationals, supporting complex transactions, private and public equity offerings, mergers and acquisitions in Canada and the U.S. Ms. O’Neill currently provides consulting services to growth companies. Ms. O’Neill serves as board member and chair of the Audit and Risk Management Committee of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, board member and chair of the Audit Committee of Defence Construction Canada, co-chair of the Executive Committee of the Ottawa Chapter of the Institute of Corporate Directors, is a member of the board of directors of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, the board of governors of Ashbury College, the board of directors of Startup Canada, the board of directors of Face 2 Face, the finance committee of the Stem Cell Network, an advisory board for the Dean of the Sprott School of Business, and a faculty member of Lead To Win. Ms. O’Neill graduated Carleton University with a Bachelor of Commerce Highest Honours in 1988, achieved her CA designation in 1990, her CPA designation in 2003, was recognized as “Top Forty under Forty” in 1999 by Ottawa Business Journal, and completed the ICD Director Education Program attaining the ICD.D designation in 2012.

Andrea C. Johnson | Secretary to the Board of DragonWave

Andrea C. Johnson is a partner at Dentons Canada LLP and focuses on corporate and securities law, with an emphasis on technology and emerging growth companies. Andrea advises TSX and inter-listed companies on IPOs, financings (including PIPEs), mergers and acquisitions, stock-based compensation and corporate governance. She also has extensive experience in the private equity and venture capital area. Her technology company clients do business in the telecommunications, wireless, optical, silicon, software and biotech/biomedical sectors. Andrea has received numerous recognitions for her work, including Lexpert rankings in Corporate Finance & Securities and Technology Transactions and being named by Best Lawyers in Canada 2013 as one of Canada’s leading lawyers in the area of Corporate Law. She has many academic and professional activities including serving as a member of the Ontario Securities Commission’s Exempt Market Advisory Committee. Andrea has a L.L.B. from Dalhousie University and a B.A. (Hons.) from Carleton University.